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World number two in rank, London Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar, an almost unknown entity before his medal, and his counterpart Indian shooter Gagan Narang, who opened India’s account at the London Olympics after he bagged a bronze medal in the 10m-air rifle, have written a new success story for India’s shooting future. Shooting has become the only sport to bag two medals in the same Olympics and also the only sport, barring hockey, to win back-to-back medals in last three Olympics. It all started in 2004 with a silver medal at the Athens Olympics by Indian Armyman Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Until his heroic feat, no Indian had ever featured on the shooting podium in the Olympics ever. The medal brought recognition to Rathore and, more importantly, to the sport, which, before this medal, was considered "a sport for the royal elite in India". Later, in 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra wrote another chapter by winning a gold for India, a feat that is yet to be matched. New policy
Two years back the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) came out with its new policy on shooting selections. It became almost the first sporting body in the country to adopt a transparent selection policy. An expensive sport, a single training session sets you back by Rs 3,000. A top shooter needs to shoot somewhere around 100 shots in a single training session and with two sessions in a day, the cost of training in itself is too high. Bullets and guns have to be imported and even after duty-free clearance, costs are high for an average man taking to the sport. Years of hope The years 2010 and 2011 were otherwise extraordinary years for the Indian shooters and brought new names and faces to the fore. Led by ace shooters Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang, who bagged gold in the 10-metre air rifle event, other shooters including Hina Sidhu, Omkar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Aniza Syeed proved their mettle in the Commonwealth Games 2010. From an impressive tally of 30 medals that included 14 gold, 11 silver and 5 bronze, in the CWG, the shooters had to be satisfied with 4 bronze, 3 silver and just 1 gold in the Asiad that just followed. With more medals in the kitty, the Indian shooters now expect more facilities and with the Indian Shooting League, on the pattern of cricket’s IPL on cards by this year-end, many new shooters are sure to emerge on the national scene. The league is expected to have clubs in all states, which will have celebrity members and shooters playing round the year for prize money.
Bright prospects Double-trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi, who was considered to be a top hope for an Olympic medal, failed to click. He still has a long career in front of him. In 2011, he became the first Indian to defend a world cup title. The Arjuna Awardee has won two each of gold, silver and bronze in recent World Cups and won two silver medals in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and a gold medal from Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games. Thirty six-year-old Manavjit Singh Sandhu, a trap shooter, an Arjun Awardee, too, failed to bag a medal in his third Olympic outing. Manavjit, won the gold medal at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships, bronze medal in the trap event at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, gold at 1998 Commonwealth Games. Ranked No. 1 in 2006, he was conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest honour for any sportsperson in India. Presently training hard in Italy, Sandhu still has a bright career. Women shooters Hina Sidhu, Shagun Chowdhary, Anjali Bhagwat, Annu Raj Singh and many other shooters still have a long way to go when it comes to winning consistently.
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